Gadi Haggai, a 73-year-old Israeli-American dual citizen, was kidnapped by Hamas during an attack on Southern Israel on October 7th. His wife, Judy Weinstein Haggai, is still being held hostage by Hamas. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum has confirmed Haggai's death and called for the Israeli government to take action to bring Weinstein home safely. Haggai was a gifted flautist who had played in the Israeli Defense Forces Orchestra.
Posts tagged as “anti-Palestinian”
Nearly 1% of the population in Gaza has died as a result of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, with 85% of the population displaced and half a million people starving. The UN has called for an immediate ceasefire to prevent further destruction and loss of life.
Hamas, the Palestinian governing body in the Gaza Strip, has declared that there will be no more negotiations over prisoner exchange deals until Israel halts its aggression. This decision has been agreed upon by the Palestinian leadership and has been met with calls for de-escalation from the international community. The announcement makes it difficult to secure the release of hostages, and it is unclear when or if a resolution will be reached.
Ismail Haniyeh, the top leader of Hamas, has traveled to Cairo to discuss a new cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. The 10-week war has caused devastation in northern Gaza, with nearly 20,000 Palestinians killed and 1.9 million displaced. Israel has indicated it is willing to negotiate a pause in the fighting in exchange for Hamas freeing more hostages, raising hopes for a new cease-fire.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina appeared on NBC's Meet the Press to discuss the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. He expressed hope that Israel could do more to limit civilian casualties and warned that Israel must consider its handling of Palestinians if it wishes to pursue normalization with Saudi Arabia. The Biden administration views the creation of formal diplomatic ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia as an important foreign policy goal, and Graham praised their efforts to normalize relations between the two countries.
Today, the Yemeni Houthi rebels announced an attack on the port town of Eliat in southern Israel using "a large batch of drones", resulting in a prolonged communications blackout. This blackout has compounded the misery in the besieged Gaza Strip, with the Houthi group claiming they had carried out the attack in support of Palestinians living under "killing, destruction and siege". The blackout has hampered aid deliveries and rescue efforts as the war against Gaza's ruling militant group Hamas stretched into the 11th week.
President Joe Biden has offered his harshest criticism yet of the Israeli government since the Hamas attack, saying that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has a "tough decision to make" to regain support around the world. Biden has condemned Hamas for its actions and is urging Netanyahu to make changes to his government in order to restore peace and stability in the region. His comments come as the Israel-Hamas war continues and it remains to be seen what changes Netanyahu will make.
President Biden has invited the families of Americans taken hostage by Hamas to the White House for an in-person meeting on Wednesday. Vice President Harris, Second Gentleman Emhoff, and National Security Adviser Sullivan have all previously met with the families, and the President has held a video conference call. The meeting is part of the Biden administration's effort to de-escalate the conflict between Israel and Hamas and to show support for those affected by the conflict.